Theme: Missed chances- Stories or instances where you missed out on an opportunity because of a non-shaven face.
We all know how very important are the first impressions, especially in one's professional life. Don't we? Because in this age of cut-throat competition, when there are often a thousand applicants for a single particular post, one needs to present oneself as the best choice available. Always.
Opportunity knocks but once. And if one messes up that opportunity, more often than not, he/she never gets a second chance again. Even if the opportunity presents itself a second time, a lot of time would have been wasted already and the person would have been left far behind in the race. So in order to make the most of the opportunity when it arrives the first time, one needs to put his/her best foot forward and remain ahead of the other competitors.
So the first box to be ticked in order to make the best out of the opportunity is create a good first impression. When it comes to job interviews, it is very essential that one goes there well-groomed and makes the first impression prim and proper. Most interviewers and employers form a first impression during the first few seconds of the meeting. Only a good first impression will make him/her worthy of attention and will bring him/her to everyone's notice. And from there on, no doubt, he/she can work his/her way up to the top through hard work and dedication.
A similar golden opportunity had knocked on my doors right at the start of my career. I had just completed my engineering studies and had come over to Delhi, looking for a job. After having created my profile on a job portal, I applied at many MNCs but there was one company which had always interested me even when I was still studying - Microsoft Corporation. Call it a co-incidence or something else, but there were a few openings at Microsoft Corporation at their Gurgaon office for a particular post and they had posted their ad in the portal, asking for applications. When I saw that ad, I couldn't believe my luck. Immediately I sent them an email at their given address and applied for the post. And I got their reply too, from their HR manager two days later, inviting me for a face-to-face interview. Everything was going dream-like.
I was very confident that I would make it in the interview and will get the job, because I was fulfilling every criteria that the job demanded - I had the requisite educational qualifications, I had always been very hard working, I had the right attitude, I was never short of confidence nor did I ever let up in my dedication. So without a worry, I reached the interview venue much before time and started waiting for my turn outside the interview hall. Though there were about forty to fifty candidates over there already, who too had come for the interview, but I wasn't feeling anxious, instead remained as calm and composed as ever.
Finally after waiting for a few minutes, my turn came and very confidently, I went into the interview room and greeted my interviewer. While I was entering the room, she had taken a good look at me. She then offered me a seat and went through my educational qualifications and other certificates. And then she started asking me questions and I answered them one by one, confidently and to the best of my knowledge. The interview lasted only for a few minutes after which I was asked to wait outside to know about the result.
I came out with a beaming smile, thinking I had aced the interview. I thought there could be no reason that I would be rejected. But my world came crashing down when after a few minutes, I was informed that I had in fact been rejected. That came as a jolt to me, I just couldn't understand as to where I had gone wrong. Because as far as I could remember, I had answered most of the questions correctly. Why then was I rejected? I put forth this same question to the interview co-ordinator and asked him for my interview feedback. He said that I could have easily got the job, I had ticked every box except one: that I didn't look well-groomed, that my unshaven face had gone against me, it portrayed a lazy personality and that is why they had rejected my application.
It took me quite a few minutes to realise how I had messed up such a golden opportunity, due to my carelessness. That was my first job interview and I could have easily made it. Everything had gone so rightly for me until then but my unshaven look botched up my interview and eventually my selection too!
I am right now working for another IT major and am well-placed in my career, but never could I get a second chance to get into Microsoft Corporation after that first opportunity. But that incident did teach me an important lesson and ever since then, I have always made sure that I'm with a clean shaven look, whenever I have to attend an important meeting or have a presentation to make.
This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette. And I would like to tag you, Sujata Tawde, for the #WillYouShave challenge. I hope you will take up the challenge and write for this activity.
